60% of the time, it works every time. – Brian Fantana
There was a time before cable when the local anchorman reigned supreme… Enter the hard-hitting world of 1970’s local TV news, where Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and his loyal Channel 4 News Team are San Diego’s #1 rated news source. All is well in their male-dominated world of news until beautiful, rising star reporter Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) turns it all upside down. Sparks don’t just fly, they ignite and all-out war between the two perfectly coiffed anchorpersons. In a job where it pays to keep a straight face, Anchorman is the comedy that makes it almost impossible to stop laughing. – synopsis via Paramount Pictures.
ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY is directed by Adam McKay and McKay co-wrote the script with Will Farrell. I don’t think there is any other way to say it so here it is: This movie is insane. It exaggerates many of the bad practices of the office environments from the 70s and makes fun of how it was.
Now, I apologize for listing everyone in the cast; I couldn’t decide who to cut from the list.
Cast
Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy
Christina Applegate as Veronica Corningstone
Paul Rudd as Brian Fantana
Steve Carell as Brick Tamland
David Koechner as Champion “Champ” Kind
Chris Parnell as Garth Holliday
Kathryn Hahn as Helen
Fred Armisen as Tino
Fred Willard as Edward “Ed” Harken
Vince Vaughn as Wes Mantooth
Jerry Minor as Tino’s Bassist
Laura Kightlinger as Donna
Danny Trejo as a Bartender
Jack Black as a Motorcyclist
Judd Apatow as a News Station Employee
Paul F. Tompkins as a Cat Fashion Show Host
Jay Johnston as a Member of the Eyewitness News Team
Adam McKay as a Janitor
Tim Robbins as the Public News Anchor
Luke Wilson as Frank Vitchard
Ben Stiller as Arturo Mendez
Missi Pyle as a Zoo Keeper
Seth Rogen as Scotty
Bill Kurtis as The Narrator
VIDEO QUALITY 5/5
The video is a 2160 HEVC presentation with Dolby Vision. This is a crisp, sharp video. The clarity shows off the successful move to 4k. There is an added effect that makes the image look fuzzy to give the impression that this is an old broadcast. It is a nice touch and still works on the format. Textures are prominent in all of the images but especially on the close-ups. Pores and skin textures are strong. The Dolby Vision pushes the colors from the period has some of the slick suits pop and is intense in a good way. The images look fantastic. The skin tones are naturally warm.
AUDIO QUALITY 4/5
The audio is a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. It is the same as the Blu-ray from the 2013 release and gets the job done. Aside from the narration, the big winner is the excellent music. It is a center channel film with touches of movement in the surround speakers. The effects are to show off the aged equipment such as clicking typewriters and tape-based recording equipment. Dialogue is well-prioritized and clear.
SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING
Disc One:
-Audio Commentary: with director/writer Adam McKay and Will Ferrell discuss the movie with several visitors including actors Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate; musicians Lou Rawls and Kyle Gass; Entertainer Andy Richter.
-Bloopers reel
-“Afternoon Delight” Music Video
-ESPN SportsCenter Audition Ron Burgundy
-Deleted & Extended Scenes
Disc Two:
-WAKE UP, RON BURGUNDY: This is the full 93-minute movie. It is a 1080p AVC presentation with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix.
-Intro-commentary with Will Ferrell and Aaron Zimmerman for WAKE UP, RON BURGUNDY: This is a 13-minute commentary for this “other” movie.
-PSA: 5 included PSA from Ron Burgundy.
-Award Speech: This is a faux Emmy acceptance speech from 1970.
-Raw Footage “Good Takes”: This is a group of improvised and alternate takes of scenes.
-“Afternoon Delight” Recording Session: The rehearsal for the music video.
-Happy Birthday AMC Lowes: This is Ron reporting on the 100th anniversary of the company.
-Interviews: Several people from the 2004 MTV Music Awards including Rebecca Romijn, Jim Caviezel, and Burt Reynolds.
-Specials:
Cinemax: The Making of ANCHORMAN
Comedy Central Reel Comedy: ANCHORMAN
A Conversation With Ron Burgundy
-Cast Auditions
-Table Read: 6/2/03
-Rehearsals
-Playback Video
-Commercial Break
-Theatrical trailer
-“Trounced Spiderman” TV Spot
Disc Details
4K Ultra HD
3-Disc Set w/ 1 4k UHD and 2 Blu-rays
Digital Copy
Slipcover included with the initial release
Running Time
Theatrical: 94 mins
Unrated/Extended: 97 mins
Edition Ratings
Theatrical: PG-13
Unrated/extended: Unrated
Region Coding
Region Free
4k UHD
Video Resolution
2160p HEVC / H.265
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
HDR
Dolby Vision
HDR10
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French Dolby Digital 5.1
German Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian Dolby Digital 5.1
Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English
English SDH
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Spanish
Danish
Dutch
Finnish
Korean
Norwegian
Swedish
Blu-ray
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English
English SDH
French
Spanish
THE BOTTOM LINE
This is Will Farrell at his finest. He has had this character deep in his brain for a lot of years. Perfected when he collaborated with talented people on their production. The video is superb and a worthy upgrade to the format. Because of the movie having a narrator, I was hoping for the Atmos treatment but as stated earlier, the included mix does some good work. This is an easy recommendation for fans and newcomers alike.
Bad Habit Online 